The contents of this book will enlighten readers of what it truly means to be born within Laotian culture and heritage. This book is dedicated to our mothers and fathers who left their lives in Laos to foster their children’s dreams in America.

Our logo of the rolling pin symbolizes the passing down of experiences and knowledge, from generation to generation, while continually to grow and evolve, ‘passing the torch’ if you may. We have a display of all the pins from the shops we have owned.

We will definitely return to Laos. We are hoping to visit again in the near future but different time of the year when it is cooler. We want to visit family and explore new cities because we love to explore!

I invested everything I had into creating what I felt missing for so long, but this time it became a personal venture — a need to bring back the flavors of nostalgia and the comfort of home. This October will mark 4 years of doing this, with about 70 videos to date.

In its eighth year, the LANA Annual Conference will take place July 28–29, 2017 in Elgin, IL. Recognizing the growing needs across various pillars of life and community among Laotian Americans throughout the US, this year’s program will largely focus on increased engagement and support for youth development, education, and elder care.

It’s awesome knowing that people appreciate my work, since making videos takes a lot of time. The videos I make are about one minute long, but they take about 5-10 hours to make, which includes everything from planning, filming and editing.

“We were deeply touched by how excited students and community members were to have their own creative space for learning, and are honored to have been a part of something big—contributing to a better education for hundreds of students.”

The contents of this book will enlighten readers of what it truly means to be born within Laotian culture and heritage. This book is dedicated to our mothers and fathers who left their lives in Laos to foster their children’s dreams in America.

Onechanh Rattanavongsy lives with her family in Lawrence, Kansas. Her amazing carvings have been featured at weddings, birthday parties and special occasions all over the United States. She also teaches carving classes and offers private lessons.